


poisonous

by its_pit_not_icarus



Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: Canon Divergence, Gen, Hurt and just a little comfort, Idolish7 Second Beat, Implied Ioriku, Light Angst, More Hurt Than Comfort, Self-Doubt, deadass I didnt intend to make tenn so mean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:00:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24366943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/its_pit_not_icarus/pseuds/its_pit_not_icarus
Summary: Iori hates to see Riku in pain. They all do.
Comments: 11
Kudos: 58





	poisonous

**Author's Note:**

> This oneshot takes place in Idolish7: Second Beat Episode 3 “The Proposal”. enjoy lol

The music is cut. The stage is quiet.

The only thing that echoes off the walls is Riku’s scratching coughs and gasping inhales. His voice cracks every time he takes a pained breath. His hand grips tightly onto the fabric of his costume. Everyone in the room watches him.

“Riku!” Yamato rushes to his side, placing a hand on his back. Riku stops coughing, instead noisily breathing shallow, useless breaths.

The producer stands up and approaches Riku, “Riku-san, it seems you aren't feeling well. We can take a break. It’s only rehearsals after all.”

“We should take a break.” Yamato agrees and looks at Riku, who wears a tensed smile. It could fool an onlooking producer but it won’t fool his friends. Yamato sees right through him.

“No, I’m fine—“ He manages before another coughing fit. He continues to cough, struggling to quiet himself down. Each stare he feels stabs him in the chest. Each echoing cough he hears himself spit clamours into his head and stays, reminding him, shouting to him how weak he is. He wants to crawl into a hole and hide forever.

The other members of Idolish7 standing on the stage with him feel their hearts ache. They hate seeing their shining star of a center in pain. Tamaki wants to run to Riku and check on him and takes a step to do just that, but Sogo sticks his hand out and stops him. Sogo gives Tamaki a telling gaze, telling him Riku wouldn’t want to cause a scene. Nagi could feel pressure against his eyes. It tore him apart to see any of his friends in pain. Mitsuki wants to diffuse the situation. He wants everyone to stop looking at Riku like they’re pitying him. He knows Riku is strong. He knows Riku doesn’t want to feel like he’s slowing anyone down. Finally, Iori can’t take much more of this.

“Nanase-san.” Riku hears his own name from a fond, familiar, worry-laden voice accompanied by footsteps against the stage growing louder towards him. He turns to see Iori.

“You should rest a little.” Iori gazes at him with a sympathetic face. A face Riku believes he doesn’t deserve to see. _He isn’t good enough._

Riku denies again. He faces Iori completely. He’s covering his mouth with a gloved hand, trying to silence his breathing. He’s trying to convince him he’s perfectly fine. Iori doesn’t believe a word.

Trigger is looking onto them, watching, waiting. Concern even makes its way onto their faces. Gaku and Ryuu are worried, though only slightly, but Tenn does not react. He shows nothing, because he feels nothing. Nothing for Riku.

“He looks like he’s in pain.” Ryuu says. His worry does not go undetected by his group mates. Gaku agrees, but he remains silent. Tenn doesn’t look at them. He feels a fire in his stomach that could light his tensing fingertips at any moment. He’s angry. But much like every other emotion, he doesn’t let a single ounce of it surface upon his face. He walks forward, away from his group and towards the group on stage.

Manager sees Tenn move. She breaks her worried gaze off of Riku. She feels a little hope. She feels her hand that was nervously gripping onto her ID strap relax. Was Tenn going to encourage Riku? Was he going to check on him? For a moment, she felt relief. But she was wrong. She was so, so wrong.

“Don’t stop the rehearsals.” Tenn’s voice drips with vitriol. Iori and Yamato can feel it corrode the air surrounding them. They tense. Riku freezes and turns to see his twin brother beside him. Tenn’s face remains cold, stoic, but his eyes are alight, blazing and burning with an anger Riku had never seen before. Riku feels fear clawing up his esophagus and choking him. He can’t speak.

The surrounding members of Idolish7 glare at Tenn. Faces of anger and questionment appear among them. The manager watches all their expressions morph. She can’t move.

“Do you think this is your personal studio?” Tenn glares into Riku’s soul. Riku’s stomach drops.

“Move.”

Tenn looks away like Riku is less than nothing and pushes him because he is. Riku stumbles, his feet catch him. Tenn steps and takes his spot. Riku is rendered speechless. His eyes are wide and his mouth is agape. He was thrown away, because he was too weak. _He isn’t good enough._

Tenn’s acidic voice rings in his ears. Riku suddenly feels all alone. He sees white walls. He sees nobody. He is back at the hospital. No one is there for him. No one ever was. No one will be. Riku hangs his head, feeling his hands ice over.

“What do you think you’re doing pushing our center away like that?”

A touch brings Riku back to earth. An arm wraps around his shoulders and a hand holds him. He looks up and sees. Iori is beside him. He begins to feel like he can breathe again. He feels warmth return to him.

“Hah?” Tenn scowls.

“This isn’t your stage right now,” Iori speaks sharply, cutting through the heavy air, “It’s ours.”

Iori’s voice is tight, and his teeth are grit. Riku feels his grip around him tighten at every word.

“And you’re inconveniencing your fellow performers and all the staff here, working on this right now.” Tenn’s unrelenting glower eats away at Iori. But Iori goes on.

“Who are you to insinuate that we are inconvenient? That our center is inconveniencing us?” Iori is shaking. His fists are balled up tightly at his sides.

“Stop acting like a child and prioritize your performance.” Tenn’s tone is venomous.

“Don’t stick your nose in other people’s business.” Iori growls.

Yamato can’t imagine any other way this might end except in intense verbal degradation or fisticuffs. Not that Iori was the type, but he could tell his groupmates were beginning to get upset as well. Yamato intervened, and simultaneously, so did Ryuu. Ryuu pulled Tenn away, blocking the shorter man’s view of Iori or Riku. Yamato pulled Iori away, who still held Riku.

Ryuu attempts to calm Tenn, braving his friend’s steely glare. He tells him Iori is right.

Yamato reasons to Iori, whom he can tell is still fiery and raring to belt into an argument. He tells him Tenn is right.

They ignore them.

They try to push through their pacifying companions, to win an argument in which there is no winner, only to freeze.

The sound of crying.

The stage is quiet.

**Author's Note:**

> I was supposed to write a canon-fix it but this doesnt fix anything. I only hurt more. 
> 
> I know Tenn isnt //that// mean but damn I guess . Also didn’t intend for Riku to cry- but it hurt(tm) so I left it in. tys for reading!
> 
> tumblr: its-pit-not-icarus


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